


Should A Star Fall, The Sky Won't Go Black

by KingofBones



Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Doriath, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Memories, Nightmare Fuel, Nightmares, Not Beta Read, Second Kinslaying | Sack of Doriath, Sorry Not Sorry, i'll update once Beta read is done, no beta we die like men, twisted memories, wraiths
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:49:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26207458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingofBones/pseuds/KingofBones
Summary: The stars are sacred to all of the eldar, but for some, they may have a little bit more meaning.Or: Elurín has a nightmare that leaves him lost and confused, and Maedhros helps guide him back onto his path with the help of the night sky.
Relationships: Amras & Eluréd & Elurín (Tolkien), Amras & Maedhros | Maitimo, Amras & Maglor | Makalaurë, Eluréd & Elurín & Maedhros | Maitimo, Eluréd & Elurín & Maglor | Makalaurë, Eluréd & Elurín (Tolkien), Elurín & Maedhros | Maitimo, Maedhros | Maitimo & Maglor | Makalaurë
Comments: 7
Kudos: 26
Collections: Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ArlenianChronicles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArlenianChronicles/gifts).



Shrieks echoed through the halls of Menegroth.

Elurín and Eluréd sat alone on the floor in the throne room, just at the foot of Díor and Nimloth’s thrones. Other than the clattering of wood pieces on the floor, the whole room and surrounding halls were silent.

Eluréd stared down at what little remained of the wooden fortress they had built, scowling. “I told you not to put that block there. Look! You knocked it down!”

“And now we can build something else,” Elurín answered easily, piling the fallen bricks to the side. Eluréd’s shoulders slumped. “A better castle, or something new. What do you want to do?”

Eluréd shrugged. “I guess we could build a new fortress… oh!” He sat up, eyes bright. “We should see how tall of a tower we can build before it falls over!”

Elurín smiled in agreement and started placing blocks for a base.

_Elurín! Eluréd!_

Elurín sighed and stood, leaving the blocks where they were. They could come back and put them away later… he made a face as he realized Nana would not be happy with them if they did, and looking down at himself, realised she wouldn’t be happy with the dust on his nice blue robes, either. He turned to look back at his brother as he tried to brush off some of the dust. 

Eluréd had yet to move, and now stared up at Elurín, frowning. “Is something wrong? Do you not want to play blocks anymore?”

Elurín just blinked at him. “Nana called us- did you not hear her?” Eluréd continued to frown at him. Elurín looked to the exit, waiting for her to call again, but when he heard nothing, he turned back to his brother. 

“If you wanted to do something else, you could have just said so,” Eluréd replied, eyebrows drawn tightly together as he came to his feet. Not a single speck of dust rested on his clothes, Elurín noticed, even though some of the dust had smeared black on his own. Eluréd crossed his arms tightly over his chest. “You did not have to knock down our fortress for that.”

“Nana called for us,” Elurín repeated with a frown. “We should go find her. You know she does not like to yell for us unless it is important.”

_Eluréd! Elurín! Where are you?_

“Come on, Nana and Ada are waiting!” Elurín grabbed his brother’s arm as he took off running, Eluréd in tow. _“Coming Nana!”_

Something flashed across Eluréd’s face as Elurín glanced back– Elurín wasn’t sure, but his brother almost seemed to become glittering white for just a fraction of a moment – until Elurín blinked and his brother was simply frowning at him in confusion.

“Elurín – Elurín, wait!” Eluréd wrenched his arm out of Elurín’s grip once they were in the hallway and the pair stopped. The large tapestries around them fluttered like leaves in the wind, and candlelight flickered off the richly colored threads woven into them. Elurín turned to face his brother. “Where are you going? We are not supposed to leave yet, Adar told us to stay here and play until he came to get us. We do not even know where he is!”

Elurín grabbed Eluréd’s hand and started pulling him along once again. “They are probably with Elwing. Come on, we can go check there first.”

Eluréd smiled mischievously. He suddenly pushed Elurín into a tapestry, breaking the hold Elurín had on his brother and immediately taking off down the hall with a cackle while Elurín righted himself and gave chase. “Race you there!”

“Hey!”

The two boys raced down the hall, laughing good-naturedly. Elurín remained just a little ways behind Eluréd though he tried as hard as he could to catch up, but that did not matter too much to him. He loved the feeling of the wind in his hair, on his legs… he didn’t care about winning. He was having fun.

As they ran, the halls started to dim, and the turns and landmarks became more and more unfamiliar. Elurín’s laughter died off as he started to slow, growing worried that they had taken the wrong path. “Eluréd… Eluréd, I think-”

“Come on, run faster! I will leave you behind if you cannot catch up!” Eluréd whooped. He did not slow down at all, and the distance between them began to grow. “Hurry up!”

“Eluréd, wait- I think we made a wrong turn, we should go back-”

“Come on, Adar is this way! We are almost there!”

Elurín came to a halt, watching his brother disappear around another corner. “Eluréd! Wait-!”

Eluréd’s laughter echoed through the halls as his footsteps faded, bouncing off of the floor, the ceiling, and every wall. _“Catch me if you can!”_

Footsteps tapered off into silence.

_“Eluréd!”_

_“Nana!”_

_“ADA!”_

With no answer coming from any direction, Elurín took off running again, following the general direction Eluréd had gone. The halls twisted and turned, and even though Elurín thought he knew his home well, in whatever area he was in every tapestry and hall looked the same and Elurín quickly realized he was completely lost in the maze of hallways.

_Eluréd! Elurín! Where are you?_

_Where have you gone, boys? Where have you run off to?_

_“Ada! Nana!”_

Elurín came to another stop, panting and out of breath. He was lost. Completely and utterly lost; even Nana and Ada’s voices were no help in guiding him, as they seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once. Tears blurred his vision with the frustration of the situation. Nana had called for them, and not only had he fallen behind and lost his brother but had also managed to get lost in the hallways of _his own home!_

Though the tapestries fluttered beside him, Elurín no longer found relief in the form of a cool breeze. Rather, the air around him had become warm and heavy. It reminded him of the warm hearth of his bedroom, and he took a seat on the floor, just to rest his legs for a moment, and wished that that was where he was now, with his Nana tucking him in and kissing his forehead goodnight. He closed his eyes and relaxed, letting a tear or two fall into his lap. _Just a quick nap, perhaps, and then I will keep looking…_

Elurín heard faint crackling emanating from the hallway he had just run through.

He opened his eyes again and looked back down the hall. Nobody seemed to be coming; all was silent, save for the quiet crackling, and the whisper-light _whooshing_ of the tapestries as they swayed in the breeze Elurín had created. Elurín sighed and stood, backtracking towards the crackling.

He paused a few steps away.

Why were the tapestries still moving?

Elurín looked around, and sure enough, even though he was still, the tapestries seemed to sway and move and dance as though a strong breeze was passing through the hallway. That was definitely not the case. The air in the hall was thick and cloying, and now that Elurín was paying attention, the ends of the hallways were starting to look a little hazy.

A flicker of light caught Elurín’s eye, and he looked to the tapestries once again. Small motes of light danced on them, making the images of soldiers in battle seem to come alive. An echo of clashing metal and screaming bled into the hall, and Elurín gasped, turning to look down the hallway… nothing was there. He looked the other way, and found nothing there, either. The echoes faded away. Hesitantly, he turned to face the tapestry once again.

One of the orcs depicted in this particular tapestry seemed to turn to ash right in front of Elurín’s eyes. The golden threads of the soldier’s armor waved as though he walked in sunlight... until he, too, turned to ash, the patch of blackness spreading through the tapestry, and Elurín realized that light was not reflecting off of golden thread and the tapestries were not waving on a breeze.

The halls were on fire!

_Elurín! Eluréd! We cannot find you!_

_Where have you gone, boys?_

Elurín turned and ran, away from the crackling. Behind him, the sound only grew louder, and tapestries caught fire and burned to ash alongside him. The smoke grew thicker, the air hotter, and the halls darker as he ran, looking for a way out.

_Eluréd! Elurín!_

_“Nana! HELP!”_

Tears streamed down his face. What was he supposed to do? He did not know where he was, and he had no idea how to get out; nobody seemed to be around to help guide him. He just kept running, barely paying attention to where he was going so long as it was _away_ from the now roaring flames he could see behind him.

A cool breeze washed over his face, and he almost cried tears of joy, until the path abruptly grew so dark Elurín could not see a thing in front of him.

Something brushed his cheek and he let out a startled yelp, flinching away from it. Something else scratched along his arm, caught in his hair, and tore at his clothes, and when he batted it away it poked his hands with sharp points. When another of these things whacked him in the face he was finally able to get a brief look at it.

A tree branch! He was outside!

Whispers started to rise from behind him, and looking back, Elurín saw tendrils of smoke, darker than others, start to roll into the path behind him. When he glanced back again as the whispers grew louder, the smoke was still collecting, still pouring in, but strange lumps had appeared above it, and the way it moved…

Something black glinted in the light of the fires, and Elurín caught sight of what looked like a sword, just as the first roll of smoke solidified into a person.

The cool breeze he had felt quickly turned bitterly cold as he continued to run, more and more of the smoke people gathering behind him. He could no longer hear his Ada or Nana over the unintelligible whispers of the smoke people, who continued to grow in numbers as more and more joined in from the shadows of the burning trees around him. Some reached for him, trying to pull at his hair or robes, but Elurín was just too far ahead of them yet, dodging them with ease.

His feet suddenly felt cold and wet as something started to stick to them. He looked down only to see snow under his feet. Flakes started to fall gently from the sky.

The fires of Menegroth still raged behind him, consuming the trees and throwing sparks up into the night skies. The shadow people ran through the blaze, caring little for the flames that licked at their ghostly forms nor for the cold wind they ran into. Elurín kept running as fast as he could for what felt like _hours_ , gasping and shivering and sobbing as the wind and the snow picked up and whipped painfully at his face and arms. His feet and hands had gone numb some time ago, but he could not stop, the whispers and cries and shrieks behind him kept growing louder and louder and he sobbed, he just wanted it to _stop_ –

His foot caught on something hidden under the snow, and he cried out as he stumbled, falling face-first into the snow. He had to keep going; he pushed himself to his knees, only to shriek and fall back into the snow, scrambling away from what lay before him as everything fell still.

Silver hair fluttered like a breeze on the wind. Tattered blue robes glistened with a million tiny crystals, and new ones piled on top as the snow continued to fall, coating the body in a thin sheet of ice. The skin of the hand that stretched out from them was so pale it was practically the same color as the snow beneath it, the tips of the fingers blue and waxy. A gust of wind whipped up the hair, revealing the sleeping face of a boy nearly identical to Elurín’s own.

_“NO!”_

A snarl erupted from behind him and Elurín whirled around, immediately coming to face a pair of silver-grey eyes peering out through the shadows of the trees. Dark as stone but sharper than a blade, they did not waver or break his gaze, nor did they blink.

Massive wolves, easily ten times Elurín’s size, emerged from the shadows in the trees and began to surround him. The largest left the shadows last, body mottled with scars and matted fur. Saliva dripped from their snarling mouths, flecks of gold glinted on their muzzles, moonlight glistened off the copper-red fur, and the snowflakes sizzled as they landed on their backs. Only the way back into the halls of Menegroth remained open in the circle they had made, but even that offered Elurín no escape as the shadows that had followed him came running out of the flames still flickering along the path, joining the ranks of the wolves as they closed in.

Elurín was surrounded.

Ghostly hands grabbed at his hair, his arms, his clothes, anything within reach as they closed in. they tore at his clothes and pulled his hair. Elurín began to shriek at them to get off and fought back as best he could, but the hands would just dissipate and more would reappear in their place. They pulled him back, into the shadows, and the red wolves snarled and barked, lunging forward-

_Elurín! Eluréd!_

Yips and whines pierced the air, and the shadow figures drew back, dissipating one by one into the snowy air. Elurín glanced around, his heart hammering in his chest as he watched the wolves shrink back into the shadows, cowering. What made them so scared? Why would they leave, what would make them leave?

His eyes locked on two dark figures that walked slowly through the corridor of flames, and Elurín felt his stomach drop.

_Elurín, my son..._

The figures looked familiar. One, a man with dark brown hair and a silver circlet on his brow, tall and strong. The other shorter with flowing silver hair similar to Elurín’s own. That was where the familiarities ended.

Ada Díor’s crown was tarnished and bent, not shining bright like Elurín remembered it. Both elves’ skin was pale and translucent, their faces gaunt, and their eyes sunken. Their once-beautiful robes were tattered, torn, and hanging off them, and their hair was matted and filthy. The figure that was once Nana Nimloth limped forwards, one hand outstretched.

_My son…_

_I loved you, my son. Why did you run from me? Why have you abandoned me?_

Elurín scrambled away from the thing, pressing back against the tree. Their voices were wrong; Nana’s voice was grating and painful, not the musical tone he remembered, and goose bumps rose on his arms. “No- Nana, no, I did not abandon you-”

_You left me. You and your brother left me, and replaced me._

“Nana, no, I could never replace you-”

The figures stopped and tilted their heads, regarding Elurín with empty eyes. _What’s wrong, Elurín? Don’t you love me?_

_Is he better than us?_

Elurín froze, everything inside him suddenly growing cold. _He_? Who were they talking about? He had only had them, and Elwing, and Eluréd. But these figures – everything about them was _wrong_ , their voices, their faces, their movements – did he truly have them?

He looked to the spot beside him, but Eluréd was gone. All that remained was his imprint. He looked back up to his Ada, who stared at him unblinkingly.

_Your brother has already chosen._

Whatever these things were, they were _not_ his parents.

“A-ada… Nana…”

An unnatural smile split across his Nana’s face, pulling her face in all the wrong ways, and she lunged at him like a cat pouncing on its prey. A bone-chilling screech erupted from her

Elurín screamed.


	2. Chapter 2

Elurín screamed.

And screamed.

And _screamed._

Faintly, he became aware of another voice screaming alongside his, although the sound was dulled slightly, like whatever was screaming wasn’t facing him. Why wasn’t it facing him? It should have been, the Nana-but-not-Nana thing hadn’t grabbed him yet, but it was facing him and it was going to take him, it was coming for him, it had been right there –

A loud thud made Elurín jolt and curl up tighter, tucking his head into his knees. Something soft and warm brushed against him on either side of him that definitely wasn’t the snow he had fallen into, and he felt whatever he was laying on dip to one side and something grabbed his shoulder so he kicked and flailed but got twisted in whatever was surrounding him but the thing only held on tighter so he started screaming louder and kicking and flailing harder as he got free from whatever was surrounding him and the grip on him let go and he was _falling_ –

His eyes flew open as he hit the floor. He caught a flash of red and an outstretched hand and screamed again, scrambling away and pressing up against the wall, as far away as he could from… from…

Russandol?

By the time Elurín had stopped screaming and was able to process his surroundings a flash of red hair disappeared into the hallway as the door clicked shut.

Eluréd pulled Elurín into a tight hug as Elurín started to sob.

The door clicked open moments later and Maglor rushed in with a worried look on his face, dressed in his night clothes. He grabbed a fallen blanket from the pile on the floor and came over to the pair, wrapping it gently around Elurín’s shoulders. Elurín held very still, trying very hard keep his tears in check and failing miserably, choking on sobs. Crouching in front of the pair, Maglor gave them a small, gentle smile.

“Where – where did – did Russandol g-go?” Elurín hiccupped, trying to dry his tears with the edge of the blanket, but more just kept coming. He felt his brother’s hand squeeze his own and he squeezed it in return. “He was here and – and he left, I – I thought he was-”

“He just left to get you some cocoa, he will return soon,” Maglor soothed. He turned and grabbed another blanket, wrapping it too around Elurín, and Elurín realized with a start that he was shaking. “Can you tell me what happened?”

Elurín opened his mouth, but stopped, choking on a sob and starting to cry again. What was he supposed to say? He was not even sure he could understand the dream himself, much less be able to explain it to someone else.

The door clicked open again, and a bleary-eyed Amras poked his head in. “I heard screaming. Is everything alright?” His eyes landed on the trembling form of Elurín and went wide, then widened even further as he took in the state of the room, blankets scattered and piled all over the floor. “What-?”

“Just a bad dream, Amras,” Maglor answered quietly, giving his younger brother a tight smile while Amras slipped into the room and came to join them on the floor. “Maedhros went to get some cocoa.”

“That bad?” Amras settled beside Elurín, opposite Eluréd, and held out his arm in offer of an embrace. Elurín shied away from it, leaning into his brother instead. Amras dropped his arm and gave him a sad smile. “Alright.

Maglor stood and silently began to collect the remaining blankets, replacing them on the bed. After a moment’s silence, he began to hum a small tune, while Amras stayed beside them, tapping his finger against his leg in time to Maglor’s song.

Russandol returned not long later, carrying a tray with some cups and a steaming liquid that even from across the room smelled strong and sweet. He placed the tray on a dresser, and Maglor came over, talking quietly with him.

Amras stood and extended a hand to Elurín and Eluréd, giving them a small smile. “Come sit on the bed where it is softer. You will be more comfortable up there.”

Elurín hesitated, but Eluréd gave him a nudge. “Come on. I will be right beside you. We are safe with Amras, remember?”

Elurín saw Russandol tense, and flinched internally, but nodded, taking Amras’ hand and allowing himself to be led back to the bed.

Once they were tucked in, Maglor handed them each a cup of ‘cocoa’, warning them that it was hot. The liquid was brown and looked creamy, and seemed a lot like milk if not for the color.

Eluréd took a sip first. Elurín watched as his eyes widened in excitement. “It is good! Try it, Elurín!”

Elurín looked down at the ‘cocoa’ and swallowed, then slowly took a sip.

It was _delicious!_

He hummed, while Eluréd gave thanks to Maglor and Russandol. Maglor just smiled and nodded, while Russandol came to stand at the foot of the bed. Elurín just stared at the blankets in his lap and quietly drank his cocoa.

Eventually, Amras gave his brothers a sad smile, and wished them all goodnight. Maglor waited until the boys had finished their cocoa before doing the same, taking the tray of cups with him.

Only Russandol was left.

Elurín felt the bed dip and glanced up, seeing Russandol just sitting there, watching him with a sad look. He looked back down at his lap as he felt Eluréd place a hand on his shoulder.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Russandol asked gently.

_Did he?_ Elurín wasn’t even sure if he _could._ It felt like a weight had been dropped in his stomach, like when Amras had accidentally hit him too hard once in sword training.

“You do not have to if you do not want to,” the ellon said quietly, and tears began to fall from Elurín’s eyes once again. “Usually it helps to tell someone about it, though.”

_Elurín! Eluréd!_

“I dreamt of Nana,” he choked out, sobbing once again. Eluréd took Elurín’s hand in his, and Elurín squeezed it tightly. “I dreamt of Nana, and Ada, and _home_. But it was empty and silent and wrong. And then I – I dreamt of the forest and Eluréd was there and – and-”

He sobbed, unable to say any more. How could he tell Eluréd about what Nana and Ada had become, and what they had said? How could he do that?

When he looked up, Russandol looked sad, but he held his arm open. Elurín leaned into the offered embrace, hiding his face in the crook of the ellon’s neck.

_Is he better than us?_

Tears began to fall again, as a bad feeling settled in his stomach.

* * *

Elurín was avoiding Russandol.

For the past 6 days, any time the ellon came near, Elurín would turn and go in the opposite direction. He stopped joining them for meals, stopping by the kitchens to grab a quick snack and asking Eluréd to sneak food out of the dining hall for him. And when it came time for sword training, he would partner up with Amras, shaking his head violently any time Amras suggested otherwise.

He knew it wasn’t fair to Russandol. He saw the worried looks Amras and Maglor gave them both, and the way Eluréd frowned when he turned and walked away or asked his brother to bring him food. He knew he couldn’t keep it up forever, but he could not get rid of the strange feeling any time he saw the ellon. His stomach would twist, and a lump would appear in his throat, and Ada Díor’s question from his nightmare would ring through his mind, making him feel sick and confused.

_Is he better than us?_

Elurín wrung his hands, staring at a scuff on the floor. Were not-Nana and not-Ada’s questions from the dream true? Was he abandoning them?

He could barely remember them anymore – any time he tried to picture Ada’s face, it would morph into someone else’s, usually Russandol’s, and he couldn’t remember Nana’s voice! Everything he knew now, all the memories he had, were of Russandol and Maglor and Amras. Had he let go of the memories of Nana and Ada in favor of making newer ones with the people around him?

Was Russandol becoming their adar?

A knock at the door pulled Elurín from his thoughts, and the weight dropped in his stomach at the voice on the other side.

“Elurín?”

Elurín swallowed, staying silent.

“Can I come in?”

Elurín continued to stay silent, praying Russandol would believe he was not here and would leave. He needed more time to think, he wasn’t ready yet-!

“I know you are upset. I am not mad, I promise. I just want to talk.”

He pulled in a sharp breath, trying to calm his racing heart. He could not get out of this, and he knew it; he would have to face Russandol eventually. His voice was very small, barely a squeak, as he resigned himself to the talk with a quiet “Okay.”

Elurín kept his eyes focused on the scuff mark on the floor as Russandol entered silently. He felt the other end of the bed dip down. Nobody spoke.

Russandol sighed. “Something from your nightmare has been bothering you.”

Elurín shrugged. Tears stung at his eyes, but he kept looking at the floor.

“Was I in your dream?”

Elurín hesitated, but shook his head. He wasn’t lying; Russandol hadn’t been mentioned or seen in the dream. Nana and Ada had never said that they were talking about Russandol…

“They were angry with me,” he said quietly. “They said that I had left them behind, that I had abandoned them. Eluréd abandoned them – he was gone, when I looked for him he was gone, and Nana and Ada were not Nana and Ada, and- and-”

Elurín was crying again. He wiped furiously at his eyes, trying to hold back the tears, but the sobs kept coming. “And I ca-can b-b-barely remem-member th-the-em! I d-do no-ot w-w-want t-to f-forge-et them, I-!”

He looked up and Russandol held out his arm, extending the offer. Elurín crawled into Russandol’s lap, and the ellon wrapped him in a tight but gentle and comforting embrace. It was not Ada Díor’s, at least as he could remember them, but it was warm and familiar all the same, and Elurín found himself relaxing into it.

He sniffled, managing to get them back under control. “I- I think they were mad b-because… because Eluréd and I started calling you A-Adar… Like we were replacing them with _you._ ”

Elurín felt Russandol tense.

“Oh, child, you have not abandoned them,” he said earnestly, laying his cheek against the side of Elurín’s head. The weight that had been resting on Elurín’s chest lifted just hearing that, and silver tears spilled down his cheeks as he clung to Russandol just as tightly. “You still love them, do you not? You still think about them. I would not dare try to take their places in your heart, for they are your parents, and I know they loved you to the ends of Arda. I am so sorry… that they could not be here with you.”

Another small sob escaped Elurín, and he buried his face in Russandol’s arm, letting himself cry.

“I should have been helping you find ways to remember them by,” he continued after a moment. “You do not have to call me Adar if you do not want to. If it makes you feel like you are abandoning them by doing so, you can just call me Russandol. I am more than fine with that.”

“But you _are_ our Adar,” Elurín choked out. “You rescued us, and you take care of us, and you _care_ about us. I just – I just feel like if we start calling you our Adar, then we are replacing Ada with _you.”_

Russandol was quiet for a long time. Elurín took a few deep breaths and tried to calm down, wiping away his tears.

Eventually, once Elurín had calmed, Russandol untangled himself from the embrace and stood, holding out his hand to Elurín before the latter could protest. “Come, I would like to show you something.”

Elurín frowned, but jumped off the bed and took Russandol’s hand, sniffling. The ellon led him over to the window, where he opened it, allowing the cool night air in and the glittering stars to be seen clearly. A blanket was draped over his shoulders when Elurín started to shiver.

“When I was a child, we would create shapes with the stars we could see in the sky.” Elurín frowned up at Russandol, confused as to how this would help, but the ellon was entirely focused on the night sky, the stars reflecting in his eyes. His expression seemed wistful. “For each of the shapes, we would give them a story. Most of them were nonsense, silly things made up in our minds. Other times they were stories we heard from others, snippets of life in the old world, before our people crossed the sea the first time. One of my favorites was the archer and the hare.”

He glanced down to Elurín, who was just looking at him skeptically. He smiled and knelt down, and pointed at the sky. “Do you see that line of three stars, just to the south?”

Elurín squinted at the stars. There were just so many of them! But after a but of searching, he noticed that three were brighter than the others around them, and they all fell perfectly in line. “… I think so.”

“That is the archer’s belt. Above it, you should see two more stars that make up the archer’s shoulders…”

Russandol went on to explain how to find the images, and Elurín slowly saw how the shapes came to be. The archer was above the hare, with the hare just at his feet, and both seemed to be facing the same direction it was confusing, with so many stars in the sky, but Elurín could see how it could be fun.

“Now, do you see how the archer’s legs share stars with the hare?” he pointed to the back of the hare, where he had mentioned the feet of the archer were. Elurín nodded.

Russandol turned to him, looking him in his eyes. The stars still reflected in them, and it took Elurín’s breath away.

“You and your brother are those stars. Two stars, shared by two images. Amras and Maglor and I make up the archer’s belt, and Díor, Nimloth, and Elwing help make up the hare.” Elurín sucked in a breath, trying to control his tears, but nodded. Russandol pulled him into another embrace, and Elurín let his tears flow against the ellon’s chest. “I will not replace your Ada and your Nana. If you want to be, you can be part of two stories.”

“I have an Adar and an Ada,” Elurín mumbled, smiling through his tears, even though Russandol couldn’t see. The images of not-Ada and not-Nana in Elurín’s mind lost some of their intimidation. “Thank you, Adar. I am sorry for avoiding you.”

“It is alright, little one. You were just trying to figure things out.”

Elurín hummed and yawned, suddenly feeling quite tired. “If you are our Adar,” he mumbled, letting his eyes slip closed. “Then what does that make us?”

The ellon stayed quiet, holding him as Elurín fell asleep.

“Two stars in the night sky.” Maedhros looked up at the night sky. “My Elin Gelebrin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thank you for reading!
> 
> A couple quick notes: this fic hasn't been beta read yet. I'll update it once that's finished.
> 
> Second, this work was done for TRSB2020 to accompany this art piece: https://www.deviantart.com/arlenianchronicles/art/Gentle-Star-852968185 done by the wonderful @ArlenianChronicles ! It is absolutely GORGEOUS and I'm super thankful to have had he opportunity to create a piece to accompany it.
> 
> Finally, the constellations I'm referring to at the end are Orion and Lepus. As a kid, I was taught the Archer's legs are longer than they actually are supposed to be, but it fit for this purpose, so I went with it XD
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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